These guys are another one of those 'every song sounds the same' kind of band. And that rules, because this album is awesome. Big rowdy summer fun punk and ska good times in every song. Except for the one ballad on each album - which is also fantastic.
Highlights: 夏のどこかへ, GONG, りんどう, Like a Fire
8/10
commune - YUKI
This is YUKI's second album and she is still in her post-grunge post-punk Beatles groove. It just isn't as strong as her debut album. Nothing outstanding or all that memorable, but definitely nothing bad.
Highlights: ハミングバード, ファンキー・フルーツ
6/10
The Complete '68 Comeback Special: The 40th Anniversary Edition - Elvis Presley
It is day 40 and we celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the greatest television special recorded! I like the way that worked out. Even funnier knowing that I also have the 50th Anniversary Edition, but never bothered to import the extra disc that it contains. Because LOGMAN is a dork, sometimes. So this first disc is mostly just the original album. Which is the weakest part of the set; the mixes are kinda meh and there is crowd noise edited in between all the songs. Which just makes If I Can Dream sound super cheesy. Despite my complaints, it is still great a great album (especially the Gospel medley) and then it has some bonus tracks that are awesome; this version of It Hurts Me is powerful and I still can not understand why that segment has been cut from the home video version of the special. Let Yourself Go and A Little Less Conversation are super great songs. I really did not need another version of Memories - it is one of the worst songs Elvis recorded and a terrible sign of what was to come in the future. It is followed by the definitive version of the greatest song Elvis recorded. Elvis was all about peaks and valleys. Then we move on to Disc 2, which is the first of the 'Sit-Down' and 'Stand-Up' shows. I really enjoy the loose nature of the sit-down shows; it really just feels like a group of dudes jamming at home and reminiscing about about their younger days. Elvis was only 33 here, but had been in the business 13 years already! And Elvis clearly starts to really enjoy himself by the end of it. The 'Stand-Up' show is a different beast; big orchestra arrangements on all the old songs, Elvis all alone singing to backing tracks. I actually dig the arrangements on the 50s songs, but Elvis is clearly struggling to keep up on songs like Jailhouse Rock and he messes up hilariously in Blue Suede Shoes. The second 'Sit-Down' show is more of the same; feeling a bit more comfortable now, the guys just repeat some of the jokes that worked for the first crowd, Elvis messes up more songs and gets more unprofessional in the way only Elvis could get away with. The second 'Stand-Up' show is probably the stronger of the stand-up shows, if only slightly, as Elvis just continues to get more comfortable and just powers through the whole thing quickly, before reluctantly recording the Trouble/Guitar Man medley and then lip-sync to If I Can Dream. I'm very glad they never bothered using that in the final version of the special. And then, we are on to disc four; this is rehearsals, so not in exactly the best sound quality, but there a whole bunch of songs that they did not perform for the special. And the most interesting part is all the banter and just general tomfoolery of Elvis and his crew.
That's a big wall of text...
Highlights: Medley: Where Could I Go But To The Lord/Up Above My Head/Saved, If I Can Dream, It Hurts Me, That's All Right (First 'SIT-DOWN' show), Trying To Get To You (First 'SIT-DOWN' show), Don't Be Cruel (First 'STAND-UP' show), That's All Right (Second 'SIT-DOWN' show), Don't Be Cruel (Second 'STAND-UP' show)
8/10
"Albums" listened to so far: 333
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